> I was thinking about building a knee tube for my Coho. Like to put a water
> bottle or handheld VHF Radio within handy reach under the front deck.

They're great things to have, Chris, and I tried to make one for my CLC boat by soaking and bending a piece of thin (probably two mil) plywood in a set of forms. Was going to cover it in some scrap fiberglass and epoxy the whole thing in place. Figured I wanted about 160 degrees of arc for the tube. Only problem is I've got a North Bay, and there is absolutely no room in there to enter/exit with a tube in place in that boat. So I share Dean's concern. (Works fine in a Pintail, another smallish boat, but the foredeck's higher.

Actually, on the Pintail, I've installed what I call a "glovebox" --- a four inch deckplate with a flange under it that holds a cylindrical bag. Hobie Cat drivers use them in their hulls. The only trick is that you have to be able to attach a flat deckplate in your foredeck, and that implies that you have a relatively flat spot, about six inches across, in the deck. It also means you have to be willing to cut a four inch hole in your deck, and, on this list, that might be up there with insidious crimes of the century. Function over form!

Jack Martin